College students revive anti-sweatshop lobby

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT)

Published
7:00 pm EST, Monday, March 7, 2005

A student coalition, including students from WestConn, plans to lobby at the Capitol today in support of proposed legislation that would force manufacturers of college and state apparel to abide by stricter labor standards.

"I personally will not wear UConn's logo unless it's made upholding workers' rights," said Sarah Kowaleski, a University of Connecticut psychology major who leads the campus' anti-sweatshop group. "We're upset that this is going on right in our backyard."

The legislation would cover any type of apparel made for the state, from sweatshirts in campus bookstores, to sports team and state police uniforms. It would require manufacturers to pay reasonable wages, eliminate forced overtime, protect workers from discrimination, limit work week hours and disclose factory conditions, among other things.

"These garments should be made either in Connecticut or at least in the U.S.," said Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, who leads the Labor and Public Employees Committee. "Those garments should not be made overseas in sweatshops where they pay people 25, 35 or 40 cents an hour."

Five years ago, student protests across the country prompted college officials at UConn and other campuses to pressure manufacturers to disclose factory conditions. Many joined the Worker Rights Consortium, an anti-sweatshop group that pledged to inspect factories and work with manufacturers to improve conditions.

Workers at a Mexico factory that makes UConn apparel told The Hartford Courant last year conditions have not improved.

At UConn, students have been negotiating with the campus Co-op store to create a "sweat-free zone," which would sell non-sweatshop apparel.

The campus earned more than $1 million in royalties last year on apparel, fueled by its national championships in both men's and women's basketball. The university said it would support the proposed legislation in concept. However, it could conflict with NCAA regulations that require teams to purchase uniforms from a list of manufacturers, said Sharon Alexander, director of purchasing.

"It doesn't appear to me that they've taken into account what the rules and regulations are from the NCAA," she said.

California, Maine, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have passed similar legislation, said Liana Foxvog, a national organizer with SweatFree Communities, a national anti-sweatshop group that has been working with the student coalition and UNITE HERE, which represents textile workers, to draft the Connecticut bill.

State legislation would help ensure that sweatshop monitoring continues, even after they graduate, students said.

"This shouldn't have to be a student movement. This should be a statewide concern," Kowaleski said. "This legislation would be like a blanket statement that the state of Connecticut will not accept this."